Oil warning system on Honda Accord - 2.2 Diesel

Can anyone please advise if there is a oil warning light that comes on to
warn the driver if the oil level is low on a Honda Accord 2.2 Diesel?
If there is one at what point would it come on and how long would you have
before the engine is damaged?

 

I would be very surprised if there was no oil warning light.
Diesels need engine oil lubrication as much as gasoline
engines.

As to how long the car has before damage: That probably
depends on the cause.

If the car was pulled over and stopped within 30 seconds, it
may be fine. (I had a catastrophic loss of oil once, after
Sears did an oil change, messed up, and didn't install the
new filter properly. Five minutes down the highway, the
warning light comes on. I pulled over immediately. Saw a
mess of oil on the ground. Called Sears and had it towed.
The engine was fine. The Service Manager thanked God.

If you heard odd noises coming from the engine before the
car was stopped, then the engine might be toast.

Can you describe what happened?

 

I was driving on the motorway, 50 mph, and suddenly there was a noise
coming from the engine. Pulled over right away and called a recovery
company to look at the car. At no time did a light come on before or
after the noise and as you have guessed the engines toast.

 

so, are you going to check the oil with that cunningly installed device
called a "dipstick" more regularly in future?

 

Once a week should be adequate don't you think!

 

New Honda's in the UK have a service interval of about 10,000. The oil
level will need to be topped up from time to time.
I just bought a Jazz (aka FIT) and the service interval is 12,000 miles
or 12 months !!!

Do not wait for warning lamps, check & top up.

 

Does the manual specify synthetic oil?

 

It doesn't actually say synthetic in the manual, just 0w-20 "API service
SJ or SL". (The CRV in uk does have synthetic oil specified and from
memory that was changed at 10,000 miles.)

But I've not seen 0w-20 oil on sale that isn't synthetic.
Don't know about USA, but it's about 10GBP or $17 for a Litre container
(about a US quart?) so just as well it's only changed at 12000 miles.

 

From a quick google, I think you're right that 0W-20 is a
synthetic oil.

12000 miles.

Whoa. I hope there's an error in your computations here. I
think the synthetic oil in the U.S. runs no more than about
$5 a quart. I still use the old-fashioned stuff, at $2 or so
a quart, worst case, so I'm not sure.

 

europe is different- VERY different. DIY oil changes are frowned apon,
theres a VAT tax on *everything*, and petroleum products cost a lot of
money there.

might be money to make smuggling in mobil1

 

Probably pays for their National Health Insurance programs.

I say we instead smuggle their health insurance system into
the U.S.

Thanks for the info.

 

Checked in our discount shop.

Mobil 1 in 1 Litre containers is £9.50 (approx $16)
but if I go for semi synthetic 5W-30 it's about 14.5GBP for 5
Litres)($25US) which is good, so I bought it

Unfortunately our health service was never set up for high cost
medicine, so it's costing us more and more, hence our high taxes.